All Gen III owners...

[96GTS]

A friend of mine has been away for about a month, and he left his Viper here for his wife to drive (she drives it all the time so it's no big deal). Well, she's just a tad bit pregnant, so she has a hard time getting in and out of the car because she looks like she's trying to smuggle a basketball. To make a short story long, she did get in the car and the battery was dead. I went over to try and jump start it, but it was in "theft mode" and wouldn't accept a charge (I have a Gen II, so I had no idea there was a "theft mode"). After resetting it and letting it sit on a charger for about 2 hours it still was still dead. It was getting late, so I decided to hook up my battery tender and let it sit over night.

The next day it was still dead, so I pulled the cover over the battery (thank you to whomever moved the access to the trunk) and the battery terminal was covered with corrosion. I removed the connector and scrubbed off all the corrosion. I decided it was to pitted to put back on the car, so I went to a few auto parts stores to get a new one. All I found was cheap garbage, so I called the Dodge dealer to get OEM. What I found out is that Mopar doesn't sell just the connector, it only comes as a complete harness. The price ranges from $200.00 to $596.00.

After a brief call to JonB the problem was solved.

The purpose of this post is to let all of you know that the battery is well hidden, and often forgotten until it's too late. It only took a torx bit and a few minutes to remover the cover. Check it often and save yourself a lot of trouble later on.

 

[RavenFan_94]

Good post for the archives. Thanks

 

[wormdoggy]

For us winter bunnies battery check is pretty much done every year since we need to install and disconnect the battery tender.

But good post and thanks

 

[Hamrhead]

Since my car is my toy, it will be sitting quite a bit (especially in Winter), so I had to make access to the battery somewhat easier so that I could disconnect it. This is my first attempt. Once the weather is warmer, I may try again and work up a nicer looking one.

Just a simple piece of plexiglass with a hole for the quick-disconnect.

 

[Racer Robbie]

All I found was cheap garbage, so I called the Dodge dealer to get OEM. What I found out is that Mopar doesn't sell just the connector, it only comes as a complete harness. The price ranges from $200.00 to $596.00.

After a brief call to JonB the problem was solved.

I had a similar problem getting a replacement red locking clip for the air temp sensor on the air cleaner intake tube. You guys know the one I am speaking of, it goes into the o ring on the K & N Filtercharger tube. I was told by the dealer I would have to buy a complete engine wiring harness. what a joke.

 

[Viper X]

For you guys that live in cold weather, Snake Oyl makes a battery disconnect that you can install under the hood on the battery post. It works very well if you're going to let the car sit for a while and not have a battery tender on it. Parts Rack can sell this to you.

Dan

 

[GR8_ASP]

Read the owners manual. There is a sleep mode you can place your car in to save the battery. No need for disconnecting.

 

[96GTS]

Won't corrosion still form on the terminal posts even if you use a battery disconnect or have it in sleep mode?

 

[steve911]

Put a light spray of WD-40 on the battery posts or a finger or two of vaseline on the terminals. Has worked for me for 35 years on dozens of cars that I have owned.